This is a discussion on Uggly: Business Man / Crimefighter dies due to self inflicted gunshot. within the Off Topic & Humor Discussion forums, part of the The Back Porch category; Doesn't provide a lot of details on how it happened. E.g. if it was accidental or on purpose.
Longtime Jacksonville businessman and crimefighter Ted Hires ...

Longtime Jacksonville businessman and crime fighter Ted Hires died today at his Westside home. He was 62.

Sheriff John Rutherford, a close friend, is at the home on Old Plank Road and said there is no initial indication that foul play is involved. Police are still investigating.

Rutherford said gun-cleaning supplies were discovered at the scene and there is some indication Hires may have been cleaning a gun at the time of his death.

A rescue unit was dispatched to the home about 12:30 p.m.

Hires is best known citywide as the founder of the Justice Coalition victims advocates organization in July 1995. The group, which Hires formed after he was robbed at a Sonny's restaurant he owned on Lane Avenue, continues to serve as a champion for the rights of victims throughout the city.

Rutherford said his thoughts and prayers are with Hires' wife, Wanda, and their children.

"It's just hard to believe that he's gone," Rutherford said. "It's going to be a huge loss for this city and for a lot of people who are close personal friends, especially law enforcement. He was a real advocate for us and we're certainly going to miss that."

Councilman Daniel Davis, leaving the Hires home, said Hires was a true advocate for victims of violent crime.

“To the city of Jacksonville, this is a huge loss,” said Davis, a family friend. “The compassion he’s had for them [victims] I’ll never forget.”

Longtime Hires friend Paul McCormick said he knew few details about Hires' death.

"To say I'm stunned would be an understatement. I'm praying for the family," said McCormick, who helped in the founding of the Justice Coalition with Hires.

McCormick added: "He was the most faith-directed, spirit-directed human being I ever knew, who loved to help everybody else," McCormick said. "He gave more back to this community and to the people than anybody I've ever known in my life."

Hires once owned four Sonny's Real Pit Bar-B-Q restaurants in Jacksonville. In addition to his work with the Justice Coalition, he was also involved in various aspects of civic and political life in Jacksonville.

After his family, Hire's true passion was fighting for justice. As leader of the Justice Coalition, he pushed for tough laws, arrests and prosecutions. He often went to court to support crime victims and to Tallahassee to lobby for victim's rights.